How to Resolve Karmic Obstacles

When studying Buddhism reaches a certain point and you begin to make progress—right when you are about to advance—karmic obstructions will immediately block the way ahead. Karmic obstruction is something with eyes; it specifically waits for you at critical junctures, guarding the entrance to ascension. Those whose willpower is not very strong will get stuck; those who are extremely weak will regress, and may even fall all the way back to square one. I have seen many Buddhist practitioners who either get stuck or regress, and a few even stop believing in Buddhism altogether. If they merely stop believing, that is still understandable; what is frightening is if they then slander the Three Jewels and slander what they formerly cultivated and learned—the consequences of that are terrifying even to contemplate.

The path of studying Buddhism is very difficult to walk, because everyone's karmic obstructions are heavy—the karma accumulated over beginningless kalpas is too much and too great. It is like rowing a boat against the current: if you do not advance, you retreat. Without the protection of the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Dharma-protecting deities, none of us could achieve even the slightest accomplishment. The barrier of karmic obstruction alone is something we could never get through by ourselves. The power of karmic obstruction is so great that we should all be extremely careful with our bodily, verbal, and mental actions, not creating evil karma, and not being overconfident.

Because every sentient being has undergone somewhat different experiences since beginningless kalpas, the nature and character of each manas differs. The bull's nose-ring does exist, and the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have skillful means to pull it—sometimes gently, sometimes firmly, sometimes persuading, sometimes punishing—and in the end they can push sentient beings onto the path of liberation. The process in between is certainly winding, and the road certainly arduous; one must endure a bone-chilling cold before welcoming the intoxicating fragrance of plum blossoms.

When karmic obstructions manifest, how should one deal with them and get through? Willingly accepting them is one aspect, but actively working to transform karmic obstructions is also very important. Karma can be transformed: through keeping precepts, repentance, and contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) with wisdom, karmic obstructions can all be transformed and lightened. Since beginningless kalpas we have created countless evil deeds; relying solely on enduring them, we could never bear them all or finish bearing them. Moreover, since we have not eliminated afflictions, we will continue to create evil karma, forming new karmic obstructions. If the karma of hell manifests, how could one possibly bear it? After decades of painstakingly studying Buddhism, if the karma of hell ripens at the time of death, would you willingly go to hell to undergo retribution? The ascetics who smear themselves with ash, seeking liberation, adopted the method of infinitely tormenting themselves with suffering to eliminate karmic obstructions, believing that in this way karma would be eliminated and exhausted, and then they would be liberated. The Buddha said: with so much evil karma from beginningless kalpas, can it all be eliminated merely by undergoing suffering? Absolutely not. Therefore, passively enduring is not the ultimate method; one must also actively use wisdom to eliminate and transform it.

How does one transform it with wisdom? Because karmic obstructions arise from foolishness and ignorance (avidyā)—taking the five aggregates (pañcaskandha) to be a truly existing self and creating karmic obstructions for the sake of that self—one must now break through foolishness and ignorance by contemplating that the five aggregates are without self. Once the "self" does not exist, the evil karma created by means of the "self" also does not exist. Having eliminated self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi), the portion of karmic obstructions belonging to the three evil destinies will be eliminated. The greater one's wisdom, the more foolishness and ignorance is broken through, and the more and greater the karmic obstructions eliminated. In this way, ignorance becomes ever thinner, and karmic obstructions ever lighter. Wisdom is like hot water, and karmic obstructions like hard ice; as long as you keep pouring hot water over it, the hard ice will sooner or later melt away. In the end, one must also cultivate much merit: with great merit, one can suppress others; with little merit, one is suppressed. When merit is great, karmic obstructions will detour around you, and the path of studying Buddhism will become smooth.